"So Ash..." Jason spoke up s the three walked through the forest, making Ash look at him, "I've been wondering, how did you get all you pokemon? Like how did you meet? You have so many different pokemon, and they all love you, so I'm guessing you all must have met on amazing and unique terms right?" Jason questioned Ash, making Natalie blink and nod in agreement, "I've been wondering that as well actually, also, why doesn't Pikachu or Riolu go inside their poke'balls?"
Ash smiled at the questions, stopping to look at the sky, "It's starting to get dark, lets set up camp and I'll tell you some of my stories" Ash told the two as he looked at the darkening sky, making Natalie and Jason nod in agreement. The three trainers walked a little further before coming across a small clearing, "This place should do for tonight" Ash spoke up, looking to the two who nodded and began to set up camp.
- Later That Night -
Natalie and Jason looked across the small fire at Ash as he scratched Pikachu's ear gently, earning a happy, "Chaa" From the mouse before he looked up at his traveling companions, "so what do you want to know first?" Ash asked the two, watching as Jason's hand shot up, making Ash laugh slightly before looking at Jason, who had an excited look on his face, "How did you meet Pikachu and Riolu? And why don't they go inside their poke'balls?" The spikey haired boy asked, leaning forward on his knees as he and Natalie waited for Ash to start his explanation.
Ash smiled, looking down at Pikachu who had curled up in Ash's lap, "On my first day of my journey," Ash started, looking from Pikachu to the two trainers sat across from him, "I actually woke up late to get my first pokemon - before I got their three other trainers had taken the three starters, so Professor Oak gave me Pikachu here" Ash explained, indicating to the electric mouse in his lap, who was starting to doze of as he spoke, "Its hard to believe, but at first me and Pikachu didn't get along very well, in fact - Pikachu hated me - so much so that he wouldn't help me catch a pokemon or listen to anything I said: trying to show to him that I didn't need his help, I tried to catch a pokemon by myself, but it ended up with me and Pikachu getting chased by a flock of Spearow..." Ash continued, smiling slightly at the memory, "Pikachu was badly hurt, so I tried to protect him from the Spearow, but at the last second it was Pikachu who saved me: we were out of it for some time, but when we both came to, me and Pikachu had come to respect each other, and from then on we became the best of friends" Ash finished with a smile, gently stroking the fur on Pikachu's back as he fell asleep.
"As for why Pikachu doesn't go in his poke'ball, its because he doesn't like being inside their - at first I thought all pokemon liked being inside their poke'balls, but then I learnt that some don't, so I never force Pikachu into his poke'ball" Ash continued with a nod before looking down at Riolu, who was staring at the flames silently, "I didn't meet Riolu here till I travelled through Sinnoh - he and Pikachu had been kidnapped by a pokemon poacher called Hunter J" Ash started, shaking his head at the mention of the woman's name, "She intended to sell both of them, but me alongside a pokemon ranger managed to rescue them both and return Riolu home" Ash continued with a smile, "Riolu appeared a couple days before I came to Vermillion - unfortunately his previous owner was an elderly man and had passed on," Ash stopped to place a hand on Riolu's head as the jackal's grip on the wooden figure in his hand tightened, "He said he had been searching for me because he didn't know anybody else he could trust - and for why he doesn't go in a poke'ball, he will when he is tired or wants to be alone, but he likes to be out with me and Pikachu"
Natalie and Jason nodded in understanding - Natalie raising her hand to ask the next question, making Ash nod to her as she lowered her hand, "How did you meet your other pokemon?" Ash smiled at the question, reaching a hand into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper, making Jason blink in confusion and Natalie raise a brow, "This is a list I keep with me at all times - it's a list of all my pokemon, so if one goes missing or something I will know" Ash explained, making the two nod at the logic as he looked at the paper.
Looking at the list Ash smiled whilst looking at some of the names, "I can tell you about tow pokemon I met tonight, then ill tell you some tomorrow night if that's okay? some of my stories are really long..." Ash explained: Natalie nodded in understanding whilst Jason groaned, "Aww, I want to hear all the stories!" The now 16 year old boy wined, making Ash and Natalie chuckle at the boy, "Come on Jason, Ash can't tell ALL of them in one night, two each night isn't to bad" Jason huffed but nodded at Natalie's reasoning, taking the piece of paper from Ash as he offered it to him, "Pick the three pokemon you want to know about first"
Jason and Natalie looked over the list, impressed at the different pokemon Ash had in his arsenal, "I'd like to know about Charizard and Rhyperior" Natalie spoke up, making Ash nod as he took the paper back, pulling a pen out and placing small ticks next to the names of the pokemon before placing both pen and paper into his pocket.
- Croagunk's Story -
Ash took a soft breath as he looked into the flames of the fire with a faint smile, "I'll start with Croagunk" Ash stated,, picking up a log and placing it on the fire before continuing, "He didn't belong to me originally, he belonged to one of the traitors - a boy named Brock -" Ash started, bitterly saying Brocks name before continuing, "Croagunk was a sort of misguided pokemon - the first time I met him he was working with Team Rocket to steal other people's pokemon, but eventually he decided to join us on our journey"
"Brock is a huge pervert: he flirted with every Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny, along with any pretty girl we came across - so Croagunk took it upon himself to stop his perverted ways with a swift Poison Jab to the stomach each time he tried," Ash chuckled softly at the memory, making Jason and Natalie smile at him as he continued, "other than that I hadn't seen Croagunk since Sinnoh, but when it came to releasing the traitors pokemon, Croagunk chose to come with me instead of being released into the wild" Ash finished with a smile, gently stroking the poison frogs poke'ball, which he had pulled out of the poke'ball storage container: Placing the poke'ball back in the container, Ash smiled 5as he moved onto the his next pokemon.
- Charizard's Story -
"I met Charizard as a Charmander when I first travelled through Kanto - i found him sat on a rock not to far from the pokemon center, at first i tried to capture him, but Pikachu explained that Charmander was waiting for his trainer Damen, to come back for him after leaving him their and promising to come back" Ash started, his hands clenching slightly as he gritted his teeth at the memory, "Unfortunately for Charmander, his trainer had no plan to return to get him - me and the traitors found Damen bragging in the pokemon center about a *weak Charmander* that he had left on a rock"
"It had started to rain really hard by then, and me and the others new Charmander couldn't survive out in that weather, so we ran out to get him and brought him back to the pokemon center to recover" Ash continued, unclenching his fists slightly as he took a deep breath, "I went to check on him the next morning, but he was gone - he had gone back to the rock to wait for Damen, still believing that his trainer was going to come for him: which he did, but only after Charmander showed his power by fighting Team Rocket - But by then Charmander had realised that Damen didn't care about him, and that he had never planned to return, so he fried the sorry excuse of a trainer and chose to come with me instead" Ash smiled at the memory, which slowly faded as he looked down at the flames once more as Natalie and Jason listened with intrigued eyes.
"Everything was fine until Charmander evolved - when he evolved into Chameleon he stopped listening to me, and then when he evolved into Charizard he just got worse - refusing to battle any pokemon he didn't deem worthy to battle," Ash explained sadly, "But that changed when we went to the Orange Islands - Charizard battled a Poliwrath and lost, getting frozen to the point his tail almost went out! I stayed up all night trying to walm him up, and the next day he was better then ever, and from that point on Charizard listened to me" Ash finished with a smile, looking at the two fascinated trainers in front of him, "Then we came across a place called the Charzaific Vally - a place filled with very strong Charizard's, so i decided to leave Charizard their to train - but whenever I need him he was their, for big battles like in the battle frontier and in Unova, he was there" Ash smiled as he finished his explanation, leaning back with a yawn.
Natalie and Jason soon yawned after Ash as the raven haired boy looked to the sky and whistled softly, "We better get to bed if we want to get to Saffron tomorrow, good night everybody" Ash told the two, who nodded goodnight, climbing into the sleeping bags and quickly falling asleep as Ash made himself comfortable, leaning against a tree as he looked up at the stars, a smile on his face as he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.